The island of Rhodes or Rhodos, is situated in the
southeastern Greece, in the Aegean Sea, near Turkey, grouped
for administrative purposes with the Dodecanese Islands. The
island has a maximum length, from northeast to southwest, of
about 72 km (about 45 mi); its maximum width is about 35 km
(about 22 mi). A longitudinal mountain range traverses the
central portion of the island. Atαviros, the highest peak, is
about 1220 m (about 4000 ft) above sea level. In the region
between the sea and the central range the terrain is generally
hilly, with numerous gently sloping valleys. Rhodes has a
healthful climate and is noted for its fertile soil. Among the
leading crops produced on the island are cotton, fruit, grain,
sponges, and tobacco. The chief community on the island is
Rhodes, the administrative center of the Dodecanese Islands.

Archaeological
discoveries indicate that Rhodes figured prominently in the
Aegean civilization of ancient times. In the 2nd millennium
BC, when the island first appears in history, it was inhabited
by the Dorians, and its chief towns were Camirus, Lindus, and
Ialysus. These towns were flourishing commercial centers with
colonies scattered throughout the Aegean basin. For many
centuries the history of the island is obscure, but the three
cities are recorded as members, in the 5th century BC, of the
Delian League, a confederacy of Greek states under the
leadership of Athens. The three cities broke with Athens in
412 BC. In 408 BC the city of Rhodes, constructed according to
designs by the Greek architect Hippodamus of Miletus, was
completed. Throughout most of the following century, the
island was involved in the internecine wars of Greece. In 332
BC Rhodes submitted to the sovereignty of Alexander the Great.
On the death of Alexander in 323 BC the citizens of Rhodes
revolted and expelled the Macedonians.

Rhodian
prosperity and political power attained great heights during
the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The city became a renowned
cultural center, particularly noted for its plastic and
pictorial art. Rhodian achievements in these fields found
climactic expression in the paintings of Protogenes
(flourished 4th century BC) and in the work of Chares
(flourished 3rd century BC), creator of the celebrated
Colossus (circa 280 BC). In the 1st century BC Rhodian
sculptors executed the famous Laocoφn. The Rhodians were
staunch allies of Rome during this period. In 48 BC they aided
Julius Caesar in his struggle against the Roman general and
statesman Pompey the Great and the Roman Senate. Another Roman
general, Gaius Cassius Parmensis (flourished 1st century BC),
one of the assassins of Caesar, invaded Rhodes in 42 BC. He
massacred the friends of Caesar, seized the public wealth, and
rifled the temples. This attack broke the power of Rhodes, but
the city long continued to maintain its prestige as a seat of
learning. Under the Roman Empire Rhodes enjoyed a measure of
nominal independence. In AD 395, on the division of the Roman
Empire, Rhodes was attached to the Byzantine Empire. It
remained under Byzantine control until 1309, when it was
occupied by the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem. In 1522,
after a sanguinary Turkish siege led by Suleiman I, the
knights were forced to evacuate the island. Turkish
sovereignty over Rhodes lasted until the Turko-Italian War
(1912), when itwas taken by Italy. The island was ceded to
Greece in 1947.